Molon Labe! (52 page)

Drake is nodding stonily, deep in thought.

Preston wraps it up. "All these things aren't even
half
measures, they're more like
tenth
measures. They're barely enough to postpone totalitarianism for their grandchildren. Gutless. They know better, but they just don't have the courage. That is the primary trouble with conservatives."

"Gee, now I'm ashamed to have run under the GOP, Jim!" Drake says. Preston smiles at the Alaskan governor and replies, "Louis, I know you're a better man than to sell out your principles to the party machine. If you lead, the Alaskan people will follow. It's why they elected you, regardless of the party banner. Just do what you know is right and you'll never cheat the man in the glass."

Drake guffaws loudly, surprising Preston. "You know that poem too! It's one of my favorites!"

With a laughing start, they recite it in unison:

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,

Just go to a mirror and look at yourself

And see what
that
man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife

Whose judgment upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people might think you're a straight-shootin' chum
And call you a wonderful guy.

But the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest

For he's the with you clear to the end.

And you have passed your most dangerous test

If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartache and tears

If you've cheated the man in the glass.

When they finish, they become acutely aware of the silence at their table. Drake looks around and says, "Heard that one before?" Preston has to turn away to keep from laughing. He knows he has a comrade in Juneau.

Wyoming

March-April 2015

The Fully Informed Jury Amendment required the most effort to educate the public. Preston devoted much time to FIJA on his Thursday two-hour radio shows. He patiently explained that fully informed jurors had been the norm during the beginning of the American Republic, but that this right had been whittled away by judges and prosecutors. It was Preston's intention to bring it back in an overall process he called "reverse gradualism."

Fortunately, many Wyomingites had at least heard of the concept because of publicity from neighboring South Dakota where it had been on the ballot since 2002:

Laws are meant to promote harmony in society. When laws make sense, they do promote harmony.

Sometimes, though, a law or its application strikes a sour note. When someone is unjustly by our justice system, it does more damage than a thousand appropriate convictions and punishments can repair.

Legislators try to do good things when they make laws. Occasionally, however, even well-intended laws cause disasters for peaceful, honest people: an elderly man convicted of "cruelty to animals" after using his cane in defense against an attacking dog; parents convicted of "child pornography" after taking family photos of their toddler in the tub; a lady convicted under the "open container" law after collecting empty beer cans along the road to use in making novelty hats.

Verdicts like these create hardship, discord, and cynicism. Not harmony. Not justice.

For justice to be served, an accused person must be allowed to present a complete defense. If he's barred from arguing that applying the letter of the law will not make common sense, an unjust verdict can easily result. Such arguments are presently denied to accused persons.

Amendment As critics have been implying that South Dakota's citizen jurors aren't bright enough to tell a good explanation from a bad one, and don't have enough common sense to deliver justice. Interestingly, these arrogant, unfounded slurs have come almost entirely from lawyers.

True, asking the legislature to improve a faulty law is an option — but only for those with time and money to burn. It's not much help to someone already being wrongly prosecuted. "A" will provide for those who need it most, when and where it counts.

In sum, Amendment A will reinforce our right as Americans to a fair trial. If ever accused of breaking a law that we feel is flawed, or wrongly applied, or carries too harsh a punishment, we should be able to say to in court. It just makes common sense.

— Proponent's Argument, South Dakota 2002 General Election

     Question Pamphlet

Finally ratified there in 2010 thanks to the tireless work of
www.fija.org
and
www.commonsensejustice.us
, FIJA had a head start in Wyoming.

Opponents of juror rights were legion. Government officials and the ABA hated it, and their arguments stretched the limits of silliness. The state AG called FIJA
"a goofy idea."
A lobbyist for the Wyoming Trail Lawyers' Association asserted that
"FIJA would allow juries to be arbitrary, unreasonable, vindictive, mean-spirited, ignorant, and unpatriotic. A jury could ignore treason. It could impose a trivial fine for murder."
(As if juries impose sentences. Only judges can.) A rep from the Unified Justice System (the legislative-peddling arm of judges and prosecutors) said
"This will clog up the system."
Tim Barnett chimed in from the Wyoming Bar:
"If FIJA passes, I could get arrested for driving while intoxicated and say, 'You can't
convict me. I'm Irish. I have a God-given right to drive drunk.'"
An AP story had hysterically claimed that
"Advocates of FIJA want juries to be able to ignore the law"
and that thousands of violent criminals would be set free. When nobody could provide even
one
example of this ever having happened, their silly agitation was exposed to all.

Several dozen criminal defense lawyers privately supported FIJA but would not go public because
"The Bar would look for a way to punish me, and judges would punish my clients for years."
The WTLA sent lawyers to meetings of many special-interest organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Retailers' Association, Bankers' Association, Municipal League, Association of County Commissioners, Sheriffs' Association, State Attorneys' Association, Trial Lawyers' Association, and the Criminal Defense Lawyers' Association. Since every one of these organizations had a vested interest in law enforcement/prison/industrial complex, they all published resolutions opposing FIJA.

It always takes an enormous exertion just to ascertain what liberals are so damn upset about. Once you figure out what has propelled the tolerant crowd into frenzies of demonic rage, it invariably turns out to be a perfectly ordinary view held by many good-hearted Americans.

— Ann Coulter,
Slander

Nevertheless, FIJA opponents were wary of too much public campaigning. They worried that advertising would backfire since voters tend to be suspicious of attorneys (
"If the state bar opposes FIJA, then it must be good!"
). They were right. FIJA advocates hammered on the fact that
"only lawyers and government officials oppose FIJA."

Ted Nugent and Al "Grandpa Munster" Lewis graciously cut some radio spot ads, which ran on every station in Wyoming. The
Wall Street Journal
did a nice feature story, as did the
New York Times
. A well-known libertarian financial newsletter author kicked in $100,000 for the war chest.

Wyoming became the second government on earth to protect the rights of parents, jurors, homeowners, small businessmen, farmers, ranchers, gunowners, and civil court defendants.

Wyoming Special Election

April 2015

Constitutional Amendments A through G were ratified by the voters with an average approval of 71%. A return of real freedom had been offered to the people, and they eagerly took it. Most could not recall the time when elections added to their quality of life.

Political liberty is so rare in the history of the human race as to be regarded an aberration more than an achievement.

— Jeff Cooper,
The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip 2
(2001)

Wyoming

June 2015

On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it.

— Jules Renard

The "Preston Experiment" was by all objective accounts wildly succeeding. There was a marked and steady decline in taxes, petty lawsuits, crime, and unemployment. New businesses sprung up almost overnight. Several large multinational corporations had begun relocating their American headquarters to the favorable climate of tax-free Wyoming. (Even though these corporate socialists were not advocates of a truly free market, tax-free
was
tax-free. They moved to Wyoming for the same reason their cleaning staff was hired from certain religious practitioners known for their honesty. Use 'em, but don't join 'em.) Even tourism increased by 40%, reflecting many Americans' desire to see for themselves if Wyoming should be their next home.

For many thousands, it was.

New York City, D.C., L.A., San Francisco, Aspen, etc.

Thomas Sowell, who is one of our favorite commentators, points out three things that make the collectivists uneasy. These are cars, guns, and home schooling, all of which grant to the individual a degree of independence of action which terrifies the champions of the super state. Cars, guns and home schooling reduce the need for the statism so prized by the socialists. They do not wish you freedom to move around. They do not wish you to be able to protect yourself. And they do not wish you to decide what your children should be taught. Such things reduce the power of the state over the citizen.
(at 915)

— Jeff Cooper,
The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip 2
(2001)

The Liberazzi are beside themselves to explain the
"phenomenon."
They accuse Preston's staff of falsifying the statistics, but when independent researchers confirm the numbers, the Liberazzi retort that
"all new brooms sweep clean"
and that the whole thing is a fluke, an unnatural freak of politics,
"a cheap card trick."
Deep in their envious heart-of-hearts, they know better.

Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity.

— McLuhan

A man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.

— Winston Churchill

Likening the Wyomingans to bacteria, the liberals make noises of overwhelming the state with the vast "T-cell" immigration of themselves.
"We'll retake the state in the same way they
stole
it in 2014!"
they exclaim.
"This is America and they can't prevent us from
moving
there!"

Cheyenne, Wyoming

June 2015

Preston gets wind of this and convenes a meeting with his staff and others. "They're right, you know. It's a free country. We can't
prevent
them from moving here, nor can we evict them once they've arrived."

Heads nod in agreement.

"But we may, as the French would say,
chasse-cousins
. We may "chase away cousins" by making Wyoming
so
utterly unpalatable that they couldn't
stand
the place and don't bother coming!"

"Why not? New Jersey and Massachusetts did it to
us
!" quips Chief Justice Pollard. The room breaks up laughing.

"How do we accomplish
that
?" asks Attorney General Warner. "Simple," replies Preston with a sly grin.

"Jim,
are you thinking...
," asks Juliette with a growing smile.

"She knows me
too
well," Preston answers with mock resignation." Seeing the questioning looks about his office, the Governor smiles and explains, "Because of our cold climate, Wyoming has no roaches or fleas. A pest is a pest. It's all about creating the proper environment. So, what do liberals fear and hate the
most
?"